Messing With You
by heartofShou
Summary: Zelloyd One-Shot. Zelos discovers what a delightful diversion Lloyd makes.


Disclaimer: Still do not own Tales of Symphonia or anything associated with it. Except this plot, for what it is worth.

Spoilers: This piece takes place post-game so consider yourself forewarned.

_**Messing With You**_

"New and a bit alarming,

Who had ever thought that this could be?

True, that he's no Prince Charming,

But there's something in him that I simply didn't see."

-Beauty and the Beast, **Something There**

_Dearest Sister,_

_It is my sincerest hope that this letter finds you in as best health as one can expect considering the circumstances. I, too-_

RIIIIP!

The top of the parchment was promptly sheared off. Droplets of ink splattered onto the wooden desk underneath from the now forsaken letters as well as the tip of the pen that was held in the right hand of a very annoyed Zelos. He hissed as a few ebony beads also flung themselves onto his hand. Cursing absently in Angelic, he rubbed at the color only for it to smear into blotchy patches on his hand and onto his fingers. Dismissing the mess as yet another example of the world's unfairness, the redhead changed his focus and crumpled the scrap of paper, tossing it to the corner of the desk and out of his concentration zone.

Had he been back in his house in Meltokio, he would have just thrown away the whole parchment, but writing supplies had already been so rare in Sylvarant and it had tugged at his heart uncomfortably to ask Cocoa for a ration when Palmacosta generally lay in ruins that it was below his capabilities to waste the generous gift.

Zelos had been skeptical at just how warm a welcome he and the group could expect when their actions were- partially, at least- responsible for the state of the once thriving gem of Sylvarant. There had been mixed reactions to their arrival; all had viewed them with varying degrees of awe, respect, and fear. Despite misgivings on the group's part, Cocoa and some others had warmly welcomed them into the remnants that most resembled houses. A long meeting had taken place between Zelos and his seven companions over whether they had any right to accept the hospitality, but awkwardness was forced to give way to prudence. The Journey of Regeneration may have come to an end, but all knew that this was only the beginning of another kind of adventure.

No one had outwardly said it, but the fact was obviously in the back of everyone's minds. The fact, that is, that this would mark the spot where they would all have to go their own way. Not to never see each other, each had reasoned when he or she had felt the need to bring the topic up only to dismiss the coming feeling of apprehension as being silly. For the roads each had chosen as their future paths were too interconnected to never run into someone along the way. Plus, the bonds they built up during this journey were too strong to just collapse after some time apart. All the same, though, it was an oncoming sadness they all could feel coming and didn't want to address in fear of making it come too soon.

Breaking off into pairs so as to not be too much of a burden on any one household, Zelos and Lloyd were the lucky duo to stay with Cocoa. The shopkeeper had been somewhat flustered at the prospect of the redhead staying with her and her daughter, her embarrassment being so cute that Zelos couldn't help but smiling charmingly. He still had it.

Lloyd had just rolled his eyes.

It had been three days since their arrival and the rest had allowed reality a chance to settle. With dawning comprehension of just how much the world had changed since two had been merged into one, Zelos found himself, to his extreme surprise, wanting to write to Seles and make sure she was fine. He had never before, in all his years, ever written to his sister, but the lack of _knowing_ made his anxiety increase. Since Sheena, Raine, and Regal also had documents that needed to proceed them to certain destinations, Max had kindly offered his services and had even extended his offer to Zelos, Lloyd, Colette, and Presea if they so wanted. So he had shamefully begged a piece of paper, pen, and some ink from Cocoa- though the redhead was starting to wonder if the woman had truly been aware of her donation since, looking back on it, her eyes had been somewhat glazed and her hands had moved almost with a will of their own; he was probably just over-thinking things- only to sit down and find that he had no idea in Cruxis on how he was supposed to go about this task. It also did not help that even if this message did reach Seles in time there was no guarantee that she would not just rip it up first.

_I think your sister really cares about you._

"Bah! What does Colette know anyway?" a mulish part of the Chosen grumbled even as Zelos was readying the pen. OK, so there was no way he could address Seles so formally. Such just utterly failed to convey the type of sentiment he was trying to express. More casual then?

_Hey Sis!_

_Guess what? I'm alive! Yep, not even two worlds joining can crush the presence of the almighty Zelos! So I wanted to know if you were still kicking and screaming, because it would be a total bummer if you, you know, weren't-_

RIIIP!

More ink got stained on his hands as instead of crumpling this next draft, Zelos instead shredded it to bits. In his mind he was expressing as many curses as he could remember and if some slipped out of his mouth, then who cared?

"What are you doing?"

Zelos instinctively covered the top of the desk- and thus the evidence of his struggle- with his arms and partially with his body as well before looking over his shoulder to see Lloyd standing behind him, a curious brow quirked. Irritated in general, Zelos wanted to snap that the brunette should at least have the manners to knock before entering, but he kept his tongue as he knew this was the room the two of them were sharing and thus Lloyd had every right to enter as he pleased. Come to think of it, Zelos had been so distracted that he was not even sure if he _had_ closed the door. Stupid, stupid, stupid! To add to his embarrassment, he realized that he was currently hiding a blank piece of paper. He straightened nonchalantly and gave a small cough. "Nothing," he answered at last.

The brunette walked closer to the desk and its occupant. Agate eyes looked at the blank- but horribly barbered- parchment and then to the confetti sprinkled on Zelos's lap. Lilac eyes watched the hero in red, trying to not sheepishly dart to the side. Why was it he could put on such a show of devil-may-care confidence in front of everyone else, but with Lloyd, it was like he couldn't remember how to? As he was busy fighting off his sheepishness he was too distracted to stop Lloyd from picking up the crumpled piece he had forgotten about. "What's this?" Lloyd asked coyly, expanding the scrap to see its contents. Annoyance came right back to Zelos, making him bite his lower lip. And why was it that Lloyd could respect everyone else's privacy and then do something like this just to tease him? The redhead was pulled from his peevishness and catapulted into horror as Lloyd began to read aloud, "Dearest sister, it is my sincerest hope that-"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zelos shouted, leaping from his seat to reach for the halted letter. Despite being the shorter of the two men, Lloyd took advantage of his standing position to move out of reach, pulling the parchment close to him protectively. A wide, daring grin was spread across the brunette's face. "Give it back!"

"You're writing to Seles?" Lloyd asked, in that sticky sweet way that let one know they were being cooed over for sentimentality.

Cheeks flushed, lilac eyes narrowed threateningly. "So what?" he scoffed back, lunging for the scrap but instead grabbing hold of Lloyd by the arm when the other had tried to turn his back on him defensively. Not what he had wanted, but Zelos kept his grip, knowing it would limit the brunette's mobility.

Stepping back, Lloyd answered, "It's sweet."

Zelos walked forward with him, the bed in the corner of his vision, and thus knowing that Lloyd would have no where to go. "Thank you," the redhead replied calmly as they both stopped, Lloyd's calf having bumped into the bed. Each knew they would soon make their own move but for now they were all polite smiles.

Then, using his strength, his hand darted out again for the paper and he cried, "Now give it!"

"No!" Lloyd called at the same time, instinctively doing the only other thing he could do which was to fall backwards.

Their version tilted horizontally as they crashed onto the bed, but neither of them minded it. Too much was going on at once _to_ notice. Having had no choice but to have fallen forward with Lloyd, Zelos instinctively pinned the brunette as best as he could, each leg resting on either side of the smaller man's torso. He had released his grip on Lloyd's arm in order to have two hands to attack with, only to find that it had freed up both of Lloyd's arms as well. Try as the redhead could to steal back the piece of paper, he kept getting swatted away with elbows and hands. It was only after he heard Lloyd laughing that he realized that he himself had a stupid grin on his face.

When had this turned into a game?

The laughing had given him an idea and with his smile sliding into a smirk, he slipped his hands back down. It was a little tough for a moment to put his plan into action upon realizing that Lloyd's jacket was actually tucked into his pants. With a skill Zelos never thought he would use in this way, he tugged up at a piece of red jacket, pulling it and the black top underneath to lift and uncover a bare patch of skin right above the hip. Though he had never actually done this to someone before, lilac eyes spotted the opportunity and Zelos's fingers darted for their prize.

Laughter instantly erupted into shrieks as Lloyd found himself being mercilessly tickled. His body bucked, trying to get away from those teasing fingers, but with Zelos now practically sitting on top of him, he couldn't get away. "Stop!" he pleaded, breathless from the peals of hilarity he couldn't withhold. "Stop! No-" guffaws- "stop it!" Instead of promptly snatching back his letter, Zelos continued his torturing with a childish- and quite a bit of not so childish- pleasure. "Zelos, stop it! Get off!"

"Zelos!" his name was gasped out but this time not by the brunette writhing under him. The sudden intrusion made the redhead's fingers freeze, but before he could turn to look, a burst of pain erupted atop his head. Once again his vision tilted as he was knocked back and onto the floor. Dazed, he had to blink a few times in order to recognize that the face contorted into an expression of fury was Sheena's.

Go figure.

"You-!" Sheena spat, the rush of blood to her head that made her cheeks so red also momentarily dazed her from speech. The respite didn't last long as the ninja shook her head to clear it and then began her tirade. "You letch!" She took another swing at Zelos's head, but the redhead could now avoid it with ease. "Pervert!" Another swing, another dodge. "Animal!" This time Zelos caught the punch and even from his position on the floor, he pushed back with enough force that she stumbled. Sheena recovered quickly, but by that time, the Chosen was off the floor and back on his feet. Although if the ninja's glares were as lethal in force as they were visually, he would have remained down- six feet under kind of down. Sheena pushed back several of her black bangs, a motion she would not have allowed in a battle, so Zelos knew she wasn't _really_ going to kill him. Come to think of it, if she had even wanted to at least maim him, she could have when he was distracted instead of just using her bare hands.

She _did_ care!

"Sheena, dear," he teased, now regaining his bearing, "this is- in a word- barbaric."

"Barbaric!" she screeched. An accusing finger was pointed his way. "I know you've sunk to levels I can't even imagine, so silly of me to have thought you would have more decency than this!" Before he could even begin to question what it was exactly that had her so steamed, she continued, "No means _no_, you filthy excuse for a man! And to try it on _Lloyd _of all people-!" Saying this last line seemed to have sparked some unimaginable disgust in her as one of her hands came up to cover her nose and she turned her head away. The motion revealed that Raine and Cocoa were standing in the doorway displaying more shock than Zelos had thought two women of their dignity could express.

For a moment he was stupefied. What was Sheena griping about? So what if he and Lloyd were messing around? Confusion stung his pride so that stubbornness was rearing its rock-hard head. Over time, he had become more and more comfortable with his and Lloyd's friendship to the point where he wasn't about to let himself become ashamed at being caught acting like an average living being. If it wasn't the Chosen Zelos that people were familiar with, then tough! However, his self-esteem wasn't fully ready to stand on its own and he instinctively glanced at Lloyd to reassure himself.

That's when he saw the problem.

Lloyd was still on the bed, using his arms to prop himself up to better watch what was going on. His breath was coming in gasps and deep sighs and his cheeks flushed from the exertion. The rush of blood to his head made him a bit glassy-eyed with a slight bought of light-headedness. Somehow, in the course of their struggle apparently, the hero's trademark jacket had been further pulled out of its orderly fashion and Lloyd hadn't yet bothered to fix it, leaving a slightly tanned stomach naked to all eyes in a way that was somehow completely different from the effect of when he wore his pirate costume. For finishing touches, his hair was mussed and collar completely crumpled.

Oh.

_Oh…_

Zelos's mind went blank as two very strong and very contradictory thoughts clashed. The first was this concept of Lloyd as a friend and the second that frozen visual image that was bizarrely attractive. And _he_ had put Lloyd in that state… He probably shouldn't feel as pleased with that notion as he was. The womanizer of two worlds suddenly felt torn between laughing hilariously at his predicament and shuddering.

Surprisingly, it was Cocoa who spoke up. "Um," her mild manner struggled to find a proper way to phrase the words she was trying to say, "I believe the boys were only rough-housing…" Despite her words, a soft blush flowered in her cheeks and she couldn't seem to bring herself to look into the room. Lloyd, looking as confused as ever to everyone's reactions, regained his breath and sat up properly. However, when agate eyes glanced at him as the hero began to tuck in his jacket, a heat pooled in Zelos's chest. Lilac eyes looked elsewhere.

Raine coughed, recovering from her shock. "Of course," she agreed smoothly. "It just took us by surprise. I mean, we never would have imagined you two-" Her mind was apparently not agreeing with her words for she began to sputter, thinking of something else and not able to regain what it was she had been trying to say.

Geez, and they always called _him_ the immature one?

"Do you guys need something?" Lloyd asked, calmly and without sarcasm. The brunette had an odd- and perhaps necessary, now that Zelos thought about it- ability to brush off behavior he didn't understand.

"Yes," Raine answered firmly, composing herself. This time her look was serious though her next words came out with an odd affection. "I wanted to let you two know that tomorrow Genis and I will be leaving."

Both Lloyd and Zelos stiffened, caught off guard. The divide they had all avoided had finally been breached.

"I will be going too," Sheena added quietly. She smiled knowingly at the two of them with such fellowship in her eyes that it startled Zelos to see it directed at him as well. It struck him suddenly that these were the people who were his friends and now they were leaving. His tongue froze, having no idea what was best said in these situations. "I need to head back to Mizuho," he absently heard the ninja explain. "As new chief, there is much I need to do."

"People are starting to recover from the rejoining of the worlds," Raine continued on, lecturing as only a teacher could. "They'll want to find a sense of normalcy and in order to do that, they're going to find how they fit in around each other. I want half-elves to be able to seize their chance." Her eyes shone with an inner fire that had not been there when Zelos had first met her. That same flame shone in Sheena's eyes as well. It somehow made their parting more bittersweet.

The redhead vaguely heard the two women explain that Regal and Presea were also planning to leave, although the day after. Colette would also continue on her way soon, probably traveling with Lloyd on the way to Iselia since the brunette had said that he wanted to stop by Dirk's place before heading out again. Strange how loneliness could sweep over so suddenly before these people had even left. For now, the four of them agreed that tonight the eight of them- nine, including Noishe- should gather together for one last dinner and with that settled, the ladies excused themselves and left.

The mood in the room felt much different than what it had been just a short while ago. Lloyd remained seated on the bed, his eyes studying the floor; Zelos meanwhile found the ceiling vastly interesting.

"I think," Lloyd broke the silence before stopping. He lifted his eyes to look at the redhead. "I think I will write to Genis after he leaves."

"Be better to confess your feelings to the kid while he's still here," Zelos teased half-heartedly.

The hero in red made a face. "It's not like that," he corrected with little defensiveness. "You know it's not."

The redhead answered tiredly, "Right, right." Sometimes it was incredibly hard to make fun of Lloyd. Never impossible, but sometimes Zelos found himself wanting to match the seriousness he was addressed with. Honestly, he was still convinced that everyone in the group- withholding himself, naturally- had a crush on Lloyd in varying degrees, but in all seriousness, he knew that such was not what the human-turned-angel and half-elf had. It had puzzled him at first how two people that seemed to irritate each other so much could claim to be best friends. Now, of course, it made sense. Teasing was just an odd part of friendship. People who cared about you could point out your faults in ways that were not meant to be hurtful and it sometimes ended up in banter that sounded hateful to outsider's ears. In fact, just look at him and Lloyd! They had bantered in mutual dislike in the beginning, but growing respect and friendship had hardly diminished the snide remarks and back-handed compliments.

Yet it was not the same. The two relationships were not the same.

"What are you thinking about?" Lloyd asked and Zelos realized that he had drifted back into his thoughts.

The Chosen shrugged and leaned against the chair. "Just how silly women are," he lied smoothly. He didn't _enjoy_ lying to Lloyd, but that didn't mean it wasn't sometimes necessary. "What with them jumping to conclusions like that." He scoffed for added effect, now mildly irritated again.

Lloyd reclined back a bit, asking, "Does it bother you? People jumping to conclusions about you?"

The immediate response was negative, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it. He would have, if other people had been there. But the door was closed and it was only Lloyd so he couldn't. His hypocrisy angered him. Wanting to grow into his "true" self meant no longer being constrained by people's opinions but such were much harder to throw off than he had originally imagined. His frown was answer enough for Lloyd.

"I can see how it would be annoying," the brunette commiserated. He scooted forward so as to sit on the edge of the bed and then rested his elbows upon his knees. "It's like you keep getting misinterpreted."

Zelos snorted, trying to dispel the let's-bare-our-soul mood that Lloyd was leading to. He didn't think the hero ever did it purposefully, seeing as how he volunteered very little information about himself, but he was pretty darn good at getting people to talk. Even Presea spoke more around him! "Raine would be so proud," is what he said aloud. "You used 'misinterpreted' correctly." Agate eyes glared at him and the peevish part of Zelos was pleased. "Besides," he declared airily, pushing back strands of crimson, "what do I care?"

Lloyd raised any eyebrow, but decided not to go with that topic. (Though uncertain of just how much of Zelos's I-am-Martel's-gift-to-humankind attitude was real, he knew just how little of it he could stand.) Instead, he remembered something else that he had wanted to ask, "What were they looking at us weird for anyhow?"

"You mean _why_," Zelos automatically corrected before frowning. "Because," his mind raced on just how he could explain this and still not feel like an idiot, "we were on the bed and-"- and he was failing- "-because!"

"The bed?" Lloyd echoed. The brunette looked down at the innocent piece of furniture as though to check it hadn't suddenly turned into a monster; it hadn't. He looked back up at his friend, confused. "Are you sure it was that?"

"Er," the Chosen hesitated, unwillingly remembering just what a sight a very disheveled looking Lloyd made. He felt his cheeks start to burn and immediately tried to think of Sheena in her swimsuit. "Something like that." It wasn't working! He was still flushed! In fact, that just led to an odd image of Lloyd in Sheena's swimsuit. His right hand came up and slapped his right cheek.

Ok, image gone.

A corner of Lloyd's lips quirked in amusement at Zelos's (apparently) strange behavior, but his eyes became dark and unreadable. "So they assumed something about us and the bed," he summarized. Zelos grunted, rubbing at his cheek and unknowingly leaving an ink spot. Agate eyes darted toward the wall in thought before coming back to look at the man standing before him. "And that bothers you?"

Zelos's hand slipped and the ink smeared across his cheek.

Not that he noticed for he was too busy staring at the hero in red. It was only for a moment though as his slack jaw morphed into a smirk and lilac eyes closed. When next they opened, they were shuttered. "Look, Bud," he chuckled, baring his teeth, "we're friends right? And all that mushy got-your-back, I-trust-you stuff… I got that. So what do I have to be worried about?" In clear dismissal, he turned his back on the brunette and headed back toward the chair. He had just laid a tight grip upon the back of the seat when Lloyd spoke up.

"It's _weird_ to see Zelos Wilder acting so freely with a commoner," were the words spoken though the Chosen could hardly believe his ears as he froze. "Where's the suave, debonair man we've come to know? He should have better taste than that. He should know better. The pervert. Doing questionable things on a bed with-" The hero in red wasn't even able to finish before Zelos had whirled around and laid a firm hand on his shoulders. He looked up with surprise to meet lilac eyes.

The redhead clenched his other hand and would have used it to strike the other, but could not bring himself too. This was _Lloyd_. Zelos was more bewildered than anything. "What are you saying?" he exclaimed.

Agate eyes blinked up at him in confusion, before Lloyd's brow furrowed. "It doesn't sound right," he answered firmly. "None of it!" He studied Zelos's face a bit before adding, "Except for that part about you being a pervert." A red gloved hand came up and lightly pinched the other on the nose.

Zelos's grip loosened until the hand dropped from the brunette's shoulder altogether. Usually he could discern Lloyd's meanings with little difficulty, but he felt at a loss as to what this was supposed to mean. He was forced to ask, "Why did you say those things?" Honestly, he had heard far, far worse among the princess's ladies-in-waiting, but Lloyd of all people… It was just incredibly odd.

"Oh," Lloyd blinked as though not even expecting the question. "I like to…" He paused, trying to figure a proper way to explain himself before continuing slowly, "I try to say things, sometimes things that are different of how I would usually in order to test how I truly feel about it." Their eyes met as he sought understanding. "Like when Dad would give me orders and I would always reply with a yes. Am I saying it because I obey honestly or because I'm just doing something without thinking? Or like when Colette kept apologizing and I would say that it was ok. Was it? So I would try something different to see what happens."

There was logic in there somewhere. It made little sense to Zelos, but he couldn't help but smile. Since he was curious, he asked, "And what did you learn?"

"That Colette shouldn't always apologize and me just saying ok only made her keep doing it," Lloyd answered plainly. Then he grinned impishly, "And the second case earns you a smack for a cheeky tongue." He winced in remembrance. "Apparently, I do honestly obey."

Zelos laughed, openly and hard. He could just picture a little Lloyd trying to be rebellious and the stern dwarf having none of that. The mental image just made it funnier. The hero frowned, seemingly annoyed at Zelos having so much fun at his expense, but his eyes openly showed his shared mirth.

"Alright, alright," the brunette finally spoke up after a short while. "I get it, I get it! Now go back to your letter writing!" Grumbling to himself about inconsiderate Chosens, he finally straightened his color and suddenly realized that his hair was a little mussed. It was as the younger was futilely trying to pat his hair back in order that the idea occurred to Zelos.

"Oh, but Bud," he protested silkily, his voice deeper and with a certain tone that it made Lloyd look at him in bemusement since never before had it been applied to him, "don't you know that nothing can keep me as entertained as you do?" With the dancer's grace that usually only occurred in battle, Zelos made the few strides to where Lloyd sat. He eased himself down next to Lloyd, not breaking eye contact once. Whereas lilac glittered like a cat's, agate only stared back with suspicion.

"Very funny," Lloyd scoffed, his eyes darting to catch the man's every movement.

Purr-fect.

Two tanned hands gently came up and loosely cupped the brunette's face, the two thumbs etching out the proud chin. The hero's body froze, unsure of what the redhead was doing yet too trusting to resist. Lloyd's eyes darted down, trying to see what the cool fingers were doing, but they came back to the other's face as Zelos continued talking, "I'm not trying to be funny Lloyd. You just," one finger lifted to lightly caress the skin from right below the ear to the chin once more, "_fascinate_ me." The verb was emphasized with a hush of breath as the redhead leaned in closer. Their noses nearly touched yet still their eye contact did not break. "I've never met anyone like you. You understand me. You… provide some sort of meaning in my life. I never thought I'd have that."

For the most part, bewilderment wiped Lloyd's mind blank. The only response he could seem to make was a shiver down his spine. Zelos leaned in closer and the tips of their noses brushed. For some reason the memory of Dirk explaining a Dwareven Kiss flashed in Lloyd's mind and he shivered again. "What are you saying?" Lloyd echoed the Chosen's words from earlier. With one hand having to move behind him in order to support his tilting backwards, only one was left free to come up and grasp at Zelos's wrist. He did not fling the limb off him just as Zelos had restrained himself from hitting the brunette earlier; they had too much trust in each other. (Didn't mean some part of him didn't want to slap some sense into the redhead though. The hell was going on?) "This isn't like you! This sappy crap is what gets poured into the ears of your silly gaggle of hunnies. You don't mean any of it!"

The older man chuckled and Lloyd suddenly had to use two hands to support himself as Zelos decided to lean in closer. "You're right," Zelos admitted, but in that same voice. This odd act still wasn't over yet. "Yet," their noses rubbed again and Lloyd found himself closing his eyes, "what has been said to thousands of women falsely-" the brunette growled; did the man have to provide a number? "-might be spoken truly to the one that has inspired such feelings, no?" Y'vows, there was warm breath on his cheek! "Yet perhaps… you want- nay, deserve- praise that has been spoken- has been created- solely for you?"

The hands dropped as the magic swordsman moved his arms around the smaller body so as to better support it, also entrapping the other's two arms so that the hero was wholly suspended by him alone. Lloyd shivered again which was odd since Zelos's arms were warm, as warm as the fire burning in his cheeks. "Ah," the redhead purred, "but words fail me when confronted with you." The brunette wanted to retort that such was obviously not true, but was distracted by the sudden alarm the senses sent upon noticing the puffs of warm breath were moving down from his cheek.

"Zelos?" he gasped.

At the same time, the Chosen said, "Better to demonstrate my feelings."

Then once again Lloyd, eyes still closed, felt himself fall backward onto to the bed and Zelos-

Zelos's head burrowed into the groove beside Lloyd's neck as his heavier body trembled atop the hero's because he was struggling to keep his guffaws of laughter stifled into the mattress.

Lloyd still heard him though.

Once again Zelos found himself catapulted to the floor. This time, though, he did not seem to mind as much. He was far too busy clutching at his stomach as his lungs struggled to bring enough air in to keep up with the massive amounts being expelled as raucous laughter. The one peak he took at Lloyd's livid face sent him reeling again. "You…" Zelos tried to speak, not quite managing to breathe, laugh, and speak at the same time. "Your face!" That was as far as he got before bursting out into renewed hilarity.

Lloyd sprang up from the bed, glaring down at the tumbling Chosen with an intensity Sheena would have envied. "You're terrible!" he snarled, not finding anything amusing at all. He sent a half-hearted kick at the other man's head, hoping it would do some good, but easily missed.

With great effort, Zelos slowly collected himself. "I'm sorry," was the first sentence he was able to form. "I'm sorry. I just decided to take up on your advice and-" a belated giggle interrupted him before he finished, very seriously, "Thank you, Lloyd, it was very enlightening. I now know exactly how I feel-" He couldn't even make it to the last word before laughing again.

Lloyd watched with the mix of pity and resignation that only a true friend could show. "Since you're up on taking advice," he finally said, "then take this: write to Seles. She would like to hear from you." Then as he made his way out the room, he added, "And offer her my sympathies!" With that, he shut the door.

The object of his amusement gone, Zelos's laughter ebbed into chuckles as he walked back to the desk. Mumbling to himself like a pleased trickster, he settled himself in the chair and took up the pen once more. For only a moment he stared down at the harassed piece of paper before laying his head down on the wood, covering it with his arms. The giggling stopped as twin blooms of blush reddened the world-renowned playboy's cheeks. He muttered the last thing he had conveyed to Lloyd with a twist of irony. Then he rubbed at his cheek again, smearing the ink into a huge, black spot.

Outside in then hall, Lloyd had only gotten so far as to lean against the door. His head was bowed and cupped in the palm of a red-gloved hand. He made no sound or motion for a long while. Then, with a deep breath, he lowered the hand.

His cheeks were just as red underneath.

- End

_For Lloydchan15,_

_A good friend and fellow Zelloyd lover who wanted a fanfic for Christmas._

_I hope this pleases you._


End file.
